[Ip-health] Indian Patent Act to Be Amended

[michael.davis@law.csuohio.edu]

Of course, to the extend pharmaceutical patents involve
processes that are therapeutic treatments (any medical
use of a patented product), such patents are freely
excludable without conflicting with any WTO provisions,
but this is a "secret" in which even Indian government
(as well as SA government and other) officials
participate.

Mickey Davis

Quoting Mike Palmedo <mpalmedo@cptech.org>:

> http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13333737
>
> Patent act to be amended
>
> Friday, 12 December, 2003
> UNI
>
> The country will further amend its Patent Act of
> 1970 to provide
> 'process and product patent' protection to
> domestic pharmaceutical and
> chemical products to ensure the availability of
> drugs at affordable
> prices to the common man before the TRIPS
> agreement of the WTO comes
> into effect on January 1, 2005.
>
> The amended Act will contain provisions for
> grant of compulsory license
> and revocation of patents if the reasonable
> requirements of the public
> have not been satisfied or patent invention is
> not available to the
> public at an affordable price, Minister of State
> for Commerce and
> Industry S B Mookherjee informed the Lok Sabha
> .
>
> <snip>
>
> Several opposition members wanted to know what
> was the government policy
> to ensure supply of cheaper life-saving drugs to
> the poor people after
> the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement that
> would restrict Indian
> pharmaceutical sector to the manufacture of
> non-patented drugs only.
>
> The multinational drug companies are holding a
> majority of process and
> product patents and also have enormous Research
> and Development (R and
> D) capacity, leaving a little scope of
> competition for Indian players,
> they pointed out. The MNCs are selling their
> products at higher prices
> and earning big profit margins, they added.
>
> The Minister said the amended law would also
> take care of the fact that
> India has a good drug manufacturing base and
> could export the medicines
> to the developing countries.
>
> India, as a developing country, can delay the
> application of the
> provisions on product patent under TRIPS
> Agreement till January 1, 2005,
> to areas of technology not so protectable in the
> country on January 1,
> 2000, he added.
>
>
>
>
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